Toy missile, with automatic opening



April 23, 19631 A. QUERCETTI TOY MISSILE, WITH AUTOMATIC OPENING 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed March 21, 1960 IN VEN TOR. 141 isms mo 005K667 April 23, 1963 QUERCETTX 3,086,317

TOY MISSILE, WITH AUTOMATIC OPENING Filed March 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. AL [am/Yaw 0umcerr/ Unite States atent 3,085,317 TOY MISSILE, WITH AUTOMATIC OPENING Alessandro Quercetti, 77/ 16 Via Bardonecchia, Turin, Piedmont, Italy Filed Mar. 21, 1%0, Ser. No. 16,350 Claims priority, application Italy Mar. 24, 1959 Claims. (Cl. id-74) In the specific field of toys there is today a demand for toy missiles capable of giving a specific performance when reaching the highest point of their upward flight, namely adapted to shoot open in order to allow the exit of objects contained in them. For instance, a parachutist may be shot out from the interior of the missile, or else a device for slowing down the descent glide path of the missile (parachute, rotor, or the like).

The automatic opening of the missile has been obtained up to now in an empirical way by exploiting the capsizing of the missile at the starting point of its glide path, or else by means of time devices which however cause the opening of the missile in a way only roughly synchronized with the reaching of the highest point of its flight, since the point where the opening takes place is determined by the initial speed of the missile.

The object of the present invention is a toy missile provided with an automatic opening device, which device is intended to act when the missile reaches very approximately the highest point of its flight, and this action is brought about by the same physical actions (gravity, inertia, and aerodynamic action) which act upon the missile in peculiar conditions when the missile is nearing the highest point of its flight. This device for automatic opening is very simple and acts timely and safely when the missile is about to reach or has just reached the effective highest point of its flight.

The meaning of the present invention is to provide the missile with a balancing unit subject on'one hand to the actions of gravity, inertia, and also to the aerodynamic action which makes itself felt during the flight, and also subject on the other hand to the strength of a spring or elastic or other suitable resilient element, said balancing unit having substantially the shape of scales so as to be able to measure (more or less exactly, according to the degree of exactness) the resulting strength applied to the device itself; and the sizing of the whole unit being such as to allow, at the moment when the various actions take the reciprocal intercourses which characterize the reaching of the highest point of the flight, the power of returning of the elastic element to become prevalent and so to move said balancing unit and to move with it a latch or other similar device fastening-the cover of the portion of the missile which can be opened up, and so to cause the opening of the missile.

In a more detailed specification, said balancing unit shall have a short arm upon which the balancing action of the spring or elastic element is brought to bear and which engages with the latch, and a considerably longer arm which is placed along side the exterior of the missile, which is capable of receiving aerodynamic action, and to this purpose is preferably provided with an aerodynamic tongue; and both arms being in addition subject to gravity and inertia.

In the enclosed drawings there is shown an embodiment ;of the missile with automatic opening according to the present invention; viz.:

FIG. 1 is an eleva-tional view of the missile from the side where the closing latch is located;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line lVl of FIG. 1;

ice

' FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are two views of the members linking the opening part to the fixed part of the missile;

FIG. 7 shows a tail unit (empennage) and the means for fastening the same to the body of the missile;

FIG. 8 is a detail of the latch which fastens the portion of the missile which can be opened.

The missile itself is composed of a body having a fixed portion 1 to which is hinged at 2 a movable portion 3, which can be opened, and is kept in closed position by a latch 4 under the action of elastic member 5; the latch 4 presents an engaging unit engaging a pin 7 of the lesser arm 8a of the balancing unit 8 hinged at 9 to the fixed body 1 of the missile.

The body 1 ends in the upper extremity with a nose 10 which is joined to the body; both portions '1 and 3 are provided at the bottom with tail units (empennages) 11 on body 1 between which the longer arm 8b of the balancing unit 8 is disposed. The elastic element 5 strives to move the latch downwardly so that the longer arm 8b of the unit 8 can rotate upwardly toward the position shown by the broken lines.

When the missile has been launched and speeds upwardly in the air, while being slowed down by air friction, the latch and the lesser arm 8a of unit 8 are maintained in latched position as a result of longer arm 8b of the balancing unit 8 being maintained near the body because the air friction acts upon said longer arm preventing it from diverging away from the body during the upward flight. Therefore the missile proceeds with the longer arm 8b of unit 8 approached to the body or slightly divergent therefrom.

Upon reaching the highest point of the flight, the whole assembly finds itself in a modified situation; speed being reduced to a minimum or to zero, aerodynamic actions become negligible. In these conditions only the strength of the elastic element 5 is effective, and therefore it causes the opening of the latch 4, and then the body of the missile shall be opened by the pressure of its contents, and/or by the action of elastic units or successively by the aerodynamic actions themselves.

From such body then the contents shall come out, the contents being, for example, a device for slowing down the glide path. It is clear that the opening of the missile takes place in proximity of the highest point of the flight, since said opening is brought about by the peculiar aerodynamic-gravitational-inertial situation in which the misgile finds itself when it reaches said highest point of the ight.

Concerning the operation of the latch, it should be understood that the latch 4 is mounted on the wall of the movable body portion 3 in a manner that it may be displaced forwardly and rearwardly (according to the drawings upwardly and downwardly). When it is in the upper position (illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8 of the drawings) it projects relative to the end of the movable portion 3 of the body and it grips the rear of the nose 19 which is carried by body 1 and prevents the movable portion 3 from opening relative to the fixed portion '1. The latch is maintained in its latching position by the aerodynamic action which prevents the long arm of the lever 8 from being removed from alongside of the body \1, even though the elastic element 5 acting on the latch 4 causes engaging members 6 to engage the pin 7 on the small arm of lever 8 thereby seeking to force the long arm of lever 8 away from the body 1. When the missile has reached substantially the upper portion of the trajectory, the speed is reduced to a minimum and the aerodynamic action becomes negligible, the effect no longer balances the action of elastic element 5 and the latter becomes the sole force acting on the lever 8. The latch I 4 is displaced toward the bottom, and the long arm of lever 8 is moved away from the body portion 1. When the end of the latch 4 moves relative to the movable portion 3 thereby leaving the rear of the nose it), its latching action is terminated and the movable body portion 3 can open relative to the fixed body portion 1. The opening of the missile will take place either spontaneously or by the elasticity of the materials (the closing of the body portions can be done with a minor elastic force) or by the pressure of the contents (parachute or rotor) housed in the missile.

It is clear that the various parts and units of the missile can take very different forms. However some specially important details of construction are shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1, .2 and 4, the latch is made up of a plate 4, from which depend engaging members 6, which engage pin 7 of the balancing unit. The plate 4 is kept in place by rivets 3a, 3b passing through elongated slots 13 in plate 4 so as to allow plate 4 to be longitudinally movable. The elastic element is fastened to pin 14 on the latch 4. It may be fastened to one or another of several pins 3d in order to regulate its tension.

According to FIGS. 5 and 6, the rear part of body portions 1 and 3 is shaped in such a way as to form incomplete hinges, respectively and 30, which are then coupled by releasing, thereby forming, due to the elasticity of the constituent material, a pivot 2 which connects them.

As shown in FIG. 7, every tail unit 11 presents depending elements 11:1, 1112, adapted to cooperate with slits in the body portions 1 or 3 respectively, and they are elastically maintained therein, in order to keep the empennage in proper position.

The nose 10 of the missile is preferably made of semielastic material in order to cushion impacts of the chute of the missile, and it is carried on the upper part of the body 1.

At least, preferably, the body presents inner ribs 1a, 1b, disposed in the inner chamber of the missile itself, which are adapted to be used in order to maintain in proper position the contents of the missile during its flight. To the ribs 1a may be assigned the task of lining up the body portions 1 and 3, upon closing of the missile.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. -A toy missile comprising a fixed body portion, a movable body portion hinged to said fixed body portion, said fixed and movable body portions together constituting a tapering hollow body, a sliding latch slidably mounted on one of said body portions and engaging in its closed position the other of said body portions thereby maintaining said hollow body fastened, resilient means connected to said hollow body and to said slidable latch striving to open said latch, and a two-armed lever hinged to one of said body portions on the side opposite to the sliding latch, said lever having a lesser arm interior to said hollow body engaging said latch and an exterior longer arm having near its extremity an aerodynamic tongue, whereby during the upward flight the aerodynamic action effective on said tongue maintains said longer arm near to the body, said latch in closed position against the action of said resilient means, and said hollow body fastened, while at the highest point of the flight the aerodynamic action being negligible, the action of said resilient means becomes prevalent and causes said slidable latch to disengage said fixed body portion from said movable body portion causing said hollow body to open.

2. A toy missile as set forth in claim 1, wherein said movable body portion and said fixed body portion are hinged on their lower extremities, said latch is mounted on the upper extremity of said movable body portion and is provided with engaging members, said lever being journalled on the fixed body portion in proximity of the upper extremity of the movable body portion adjacent said latch, and said lesser arm of the lever is provided with a pin which engages said engaging members of the latch.

3. A toy missile as set forth in claim 1, wherein said longer arm of the lever is provided with an aerodynamic tongue, mounted longitudinally towards the extremity of said longer arm.

4. A toy missile as set forth in claim 1, wherein both fixed and movable body portions are provided at their lower extremities with tail units, each tail unit having depending elements capable of being released elastically into slits in the body portions of the missile in order to fix the tail units therein.

5. A toy missile as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch comprises a plate having elongated slots therein and means mounted on said movable body portion and disposed through said slots to allow said plate to be longitudinally movable.

6. A toy missile as set forth in claim 1, wherein both said movable and fixed body portions are shaped in their lower parts in the form of incomplete hinges, and are connected to one another by a pivot booked in them by means of an elastic release.

7. A toy missile comprising a fixed body portion, a movable body portion hinged to the lower extremity of said fixed body portion, said fixed and movable body portions together constituting a tapering hollow body, a sliding latch slidably mounted on said movable body portion and engaging in its closed position said fixed body portion thereby maintaining said hollow body fastened, said latch having engaging members, elastic means connected to said movable body portion and to said slidable latch striving to open said latch, and a lever hinged near the upper extremity of said fixed body portion on the side opposite to the movable body portion, said lever having a lesser arm disposed within said hollow body and provided with a pin for engaging the engaging member of said latch, said lever having a further longer arm disposed outside said hollow body and containing near its extremity an aerodynamic tongue, whereby during the upward flight the aerodynamic action effective on said aerodynamic tongue maintains said longer arm near to the body, said latch in closed position against the action of said elastic means, and said hollow body fastened, while at the highest point of the flight the aerodynamic action being negligible, the action of said elastic means becomes prevalent and causes said slidable latch to disengage said fixed body portion from said movable body portion causing said hollow body to open.

8. A toy missile comprising a body having a fixed portion and a movable portion, means connecting said portions together enabling said portions to move with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position, latch means connected to one of said portions to positively latch said portions together when said missile is engaged in an upward flight, lever means pivotally connected to the other of said portions adjacent said latch means when said portions are latched to maintain said latch means in a latched position while said missile is in said upward flight as a result of aerodynamic action on said lever means, and biasing means connected between said latch means and said body to move said latch means to disengage said portions when said missile has reached substantially the apex of its upward flight causing said body to open.

9. A toy missile according to claim 8 in which said lever means is pivotally connected to said fixed portion and comprises a short arm and a long arm, said short arm being disposed interiorly of said body and having a pin thereon which is engaged by said latch means to maintain said latch means in a latched position, said long arm disposed exteriorly of said body and having an aerodynamic tongue thereon remote from where said lever means is pivotally connected which is acted on by aerodynamic action during the upward flight of said missile to maintain said long arm near said body.

10. A toy missile according to claim 8 in which said latch means comprises a plate having elongated slots therein, said plate being movably connected to said movable portion, means connected to said movable portion and disposed through said elongated slots to limit the movement of said plate, and engaging members depending from said plate to engage said lever means to maintain said portions latched during said upward flight of said missile.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCE-S Trapp: German application 1,048,525 printed January 8, 1959. 

1. A TOY MISSILE COMPRISING A FIXED BODY PORTION, A MOVABLE BODY PORTION HINGED TO SAID FIXED BODY PORTION, SAID FIXED AND MOVABLE BODY PORTIONS TOGETHER CONSTITUTING A TAPERING HOLLOW BODY, A SLIDING LATCH SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID BODY PORTIONS AND ENGAGING IN ITS CLOSED POSITION THE OTHER OF SAID BODY PORTIONS THEREBY MAINTAINING SAID HOLLOW BODY FASTENED, RESILIENT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HOLLOW BODY AND TO SAID SLIDABLE LATCH STRIVING TO OPEN SAID LATCH, AND A TWO-ARMED LEVER HINGED TO ONE OF SAID BODY PORTIONS ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE TO THE SLIDING LATCH, SAID LEVER HAVING A LESSER ARM INTERIOR TO SAID HOLLOW BODY ENGAGING SAID LATCH AND AN EXTERIOR LONGER ARM HAVING NEAR ITS EXTREMITY AN AERODYNAMIC TONGUE, WHEREBY DURING THE UPWARD FLIGHT THE AERODYNAMIC ACTION EFFECTIVE ON SAID TONGUE MAINTAINS SAID LONGER ARM NEAR TO THE BODY, SAID LATCH IN CLOSED POSITION AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS, AND SAID HOLLOW BODY FASTENED, WHILE AT THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE FLIGHT THE AERODYNAMIC ACTION BEING NEGLIBLE, THE ACTION OF SAID RESILIENT MEANS BECOMES PREVALENT AND CAUSES SAID SLIDABLE LATCH TO DISENGAGE SAID FIXED BODY PORTION FROM SAID MOVABLE BODY PORTION CAUSING SAID HOLLOW BODY TO OPEN. 